1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to mower-conditioners and more particularly to a timing system for the rollers of a mower-conditioner to prevent interference of lugs from one roller to another.
2. Description of the Related Art
The rollers of mower-conditioners allow hay or other forage to pass between an upper and a lower roller to be crimped just before it is formed into a windrow so that it will dry more quickly. These rollers typically have intermeshing lugs thereon, for example as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,302 to Rosenbahn et al. It is important that the lugs of the upper roller fit in the depressions of the lower roller and vice versa when these rollers are close together so that the lugs of one roller do not interfere with the lugs of an adjacent roller. To solve this problem, timing gears have been devised as in the aforementioned patent to Rosenbalm et al. It has been determined however that if a large item passes between the rollers, on the gear end, the gear end of the rollers separate to allow the item to pass, and the opposite end stays together. As the separation of the rollers begins, the gear located on the upper roller proceeds to pass over the adjacent gear, this causes the upper roller to rotate with respect to the lower roller i.e. the upper roller timing gear "Walks" with respect to another. This ruins the timing and makes the intermeshing lugs on the roller's far side collide, possibly damaging the rollers, the gears, etc.
Accordingly, there is a need to solve the aforementioned problem in the prior art.